The Pledge

As a company, we pledge to support:

1. Initiative & curiosity

We expect hackers to be creative, contribute product ideas, and challenge the status quo. We encourage them to read tech news, explore new software, and attend a few events a year on work time to keep their skills up-to-date.

2. High-productivity working conditions

We let hackers choose the best tools available, both software and hardware. To avoid interrupts and foster high-quality work, we provide an environment as calm and stress-free as possible.

3. Openness & freedom of speech

We encourage our staff to share ideas and knowledge about technology through meetups and exchanges with other hackers, while respecting the company's expectations for confidentiality.

4. Giving back to the community

Given how essential Free Software is to a hacker's work, we strive to give back by contributing upstream, open-sourcing internal projects, and sponsoring conferences or community organizations.

As a hacker, how do I support the pledge?

Spread the word! Tweeting that you would strongly prefer working in a company supporting the @hackerpledge would also be helpful :)

Who created this pledge?

The 0.x version of this pledge was drafted by the dotConferences team with input and feedback from a large group of developers. The 1.0 version was first announced publicly on May 19th, 2014 with the goal of being a living document based on a broad consensus from the hacker community.

Why did you create this pledge?

There are too many companies where executives are not educated towards the benefits of rewarding curiosity, initiative and openness from their employees. We think it is mutually beneficial to have a hacker-friendly workplace and we hope to set a baseline for what this actually means.

We believe that taking the pledge and following its principles will help teams be happy and do the best work they can.

Shouldn't inclusiveness and non-discrimination be part of the pledge?

Everyone (not just hackers!) should be treated without discrimination regarding gender, ethnic minority or beliefs. This pledge is non exhaustive and puts emphasis on the principles that are at the core of the hacker spirit.

Why don't you mention comfortable chairs?

Same reason. The health of a hacker is not more valuable than any other employee!

Who can I contact if I have feedback or questions on the Hacker Pledge?

How to contribute?

This is a community-driven project, and we welcome all contributions directly on GitHub as Pull Requests. Please explain the rationale behind your ideas a bit more than you would for a regular PR though ;)

(Contributions on wording & style are also welcome.)

We will get a panel of highly respected hackers to act as moral authority in case of unresolved debates.